Miss E's Recital Performance

May 16, 2013

"The Belltower"

I knew she was super nervous because she was swinging her feet like crazy. Afterward she gave me such a huge grin. I sure love this girl!

Spring Recital

May 16, 2013

I held my final recital with my Utah piano students on May 16. This was an especially significant recital because Miss E performed for the first time (first time in a recital-she had already played in her school talent show). She played a song called, "The Bell Tower" and did a fabulous job! I will try to find the video of that to post as well. She was so nervous to introduce herself, but she played beautifully. I was so proud! She was just excited that she was allowed to eat the treats afterward.

This was an emotional recital for me, knowing that I would be leaving my students this summer. I thanked them for allowing me to teach them and did my best to not cry like a little girl. It was so hard! My kids all were fabulous, as usual, and left me with the best memories.

I have yet to decide if I am going to start teaching here. It really is time consuming and I will have to figure out what to do with my kiddos while I am teaching. I had a pretty sweet deal with a family in Plain City, piano lessons in exchange for babysitting. For now I am still trying to find my piano beneath the boxes!

Wholly Summer

This summer was nuts. Truly. Starting with a fabulous dream trip to Hawaii and ending with us living in a new state. Whew!

June brought a family (adults only) trip to THE Big Island. It was wonderful! It was a huge hoorah to celebrate Mom's birthday, Mom and Dad's anniversary, and Matt's last family trip before he left for his mission. We had lots of fun, ate lots, got lots of sun...basically it was lots of everything! We had a wonderful time being together as a family. I couldn't ask for greater siblings and parents. I love them so much!

The end of June meant preparations to move to Washington. This was a very bittersweet time for our family. Steve had to start his new job on July 2 and I wasn't moving with the girls until the 20th of July. That meant lots of late nights and early mornings. I saw the sun rise on many mornings. Without the help of family and friends this move would not have worked as smoothly as it did. I am forever indebted to countless people!!!

 

Here is one last "beauty shot" of our home. We love this home. It will always be our first purchased home that we poured heart and soul into. Our second baby was brought home here. Many tears, both happy and sad, were shed in this home.

 

The best of the best people live in our old neighborhood/ward. They were truly there to lift me and my girls up and I know that Steve and I both felt comfort because I was so taken care of. My incredible sister and brother in law also went above and beyond the call of duty that week!!!

The day we loaded the truck, July 19, the house was immaculately clean and all of our toys were packed up. I did not want the girls in the house so we got in the car and they promptly fell asleep. I headed to my favorite lunch spot, Kneaders, and got a yummy lunch from the drive through. We then headed to Beus Pond Park to explore. The girls got even more tired and more dirty. We were lucky enough to be invited to our favorite friends house for dinner and baths before bed.

 

Once we got all of our stuff to Kennewick and unloaded from the truck, we promptly turned around and went on vacation!!! The girls and I met our besties, the Knights, in Boise and then went to my mom and dad's cabin in Donnelly, ID. It was a wonderful few days of food, fun, and friends. We loved our beach days!

 August brought more tears with the departure of our favorite brother to the Missionary Training Center to learn how to be a missionary to the Japanese people. Whew, that was a hard but great day!

Then it was off the the Kartchner family reunion at Bear Lake to celebrate these two and their fabulous legacy.

Finally, in the middle of August, we were "home," whatever that meant at the time. Our new home in Kennewick is on a huge lot and we have met many kind people. We are still moving boxes around. It still feels new and a bit uncomfortable, but in time I know it will begin to feel like home.

And last but not least, our last celebrations of the summer include our anniversary and to love on this little girl! Tiny turned 2 on the 20th and we loved every minute of that day. She is such a light in all of our lives.

This summer was overwhelming at its worst and incredible at its best. I have cried tears of pain, sadness, even sorrow, and lots of tears of joy. We know that we are loved and I have never felt it so clearly and purely as I did this summer. I have been blessed!

Simple Pleasures

1/25/13
My girls are huge suckers for water. Unfortunately, I don't often feel like a fun enough mom to deal with the aftermath of water play.  After looking at these pictures I have come to the realization that the little bit of watery mess is more than worth the joy that warm, bubbly water brings!

I know this is a terrible picture but it is one of my favorites because it shows how excited she gets about bubbles!

Morning Time

She LOVES bananas! (1/25/13)

I want to record some of our daily routines for my girls when to look back on when they are older.
Our mornings are (generally) very low key. The girls wake up around 8:00 most days. I know that we are super lucky here, as lots of families start their days much earlier than us! Miss E will then do one of a few things. Some days she wakes up and Little Sister is still sleeping, so E will play in her room for a bit or come down and ask for breakfast. Sometimes Sis is awake so the two play happily, E giving Sis toys or telling her stories. Other days are less serene. E occasionally wakes up in a foul mood, screaming from her bed for breakfast (heaven help her and me those days!!!) She is not supposed to yell from her bed, for obvious reasons, so I will either let her yell it out (if the baby is awake already) or I will go up and she is reprimanded for making us all crazy.

She is not happy when meal time ends. (1/25/13)

The next step in our day is breakfast. Our girls don't branch out a whole lot with breakfast. Tiny eats a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt mixed in basically every day, along with (since we are always trying to fatten her up) whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed in. E has a slightly bigger variety. She often asks for bread with jam, cereal, or oatmeal. She also drinks the chocolate milk, although hers is not usually whole milk! The girls also love any kind of fruit they can get with breakfast. Sometimes I get a fun mom whim and make a good breakfast of waffles, eggs, etc, but those days are few and far between.
As soon as they are done eating I try to get the dishes unloaded from the dishwasher and the breakfast dishes done. I also have to sweep at this time. All of that is basically impossible once Tiny is out of her high chair. She is a "helper."

Watching TV so mom can get some work done (11/1/12)

From there the girls get dressed, play, and get their hair done. Since Steve works every other week and works nights, we have to keep somewhat quiet in the mornings. This is a challenge on some days more than others...these are the days the TV is a good entertainer while I get ready as fast as I can. Please don't judge if you come over before noon and I am still in my pjs with crazy hair!

The day after Halloween-a good look at how we feel about mornings around here. A little coo coo! (11/1/12)

This is the basic outline of our morning as it stands right now. We are really looking forward to warmer weather so we can head outside before noon!

Visiting the Y

January 21, 2013

After dropping Steve's parents off at the MTC Steve and I wanted to take the girls to BYU. We knew Miss E would love the bookstore and we really wanted to show them around campus. Unfortunately we forgot that it was Martin Luther King day so the bookstore was closed. It also happened to be well below freezing so it was much too uncomfortable to take a leisurely stroll outside. Instead, we decided to do what we do best...EAT. Luckily the Creamery was open so we got some yummy burgers, fries, and ice cream.
On our way home we stopped at the outlets at Traverse Mountain in Lehi. Again, it was way too cold to be outside, so we quickly ran in to a few stores that had things we needed and then ran back to the car, faces freezing! It was a fun day but it left us wanting to go back on a day when it is a bit warmer.

Missionary Grandparents

January 21, 2013

Steve's parents have been talking about going on a mission for the LDS church for the last year or so. Last summer they let us know that they were making official plans to go. In the fall they received their call to Baumholder Germany. While we are sad to say goodbye to them for the next 18 months, we are so excited to hear of their adventures!

On January 21 we had the opportunity to take them to the Missionary Training Center in Provo. I had only ever quickly been into the main entrance of the MTC so it was fun to spend a few minutes in there and then to drop them off at their building.

 Grandpa and Grandma (Jean and Gerald) checking in

 The girls had a great time being very wiggly and running around the entry

 Classic missionary picture by the map, they are headed to Germany!

 Grandpa listening to the instructions while grandma was probably kissing the baby

 Good bye hugs

 Our last look. You can't see it here, but Grandma was a little bit misty eyed (as was I!). Luckily we were able to spend one more weekend with them before they flew out.

We are so proud of them!